In displaying and selling packaged goods, it is generally important to apply visible markings such as product identifiers, instructional material, corporate logos, trademarks and the like to the visible portions of a container for commercial purposes such as sales promotion of the goods packaged in the container. Such visible markings are generally applied directly to the visible portions of a container by various techniques including printing, embossing, etching and the like either directly onto the side walls of the container or by attaching to the container a film or wrapper having the visible markings thereon.
Various types of printed films and methods for labeling packaged goods are used throughout the packaging industry. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,908,687 teaches oriented or hot-blown shrink films containing a modifier component such as a plastomer and/or metallocene catalyzed ethylene-propylene copolymer, wherein the label can be coated or metallized.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,609 discloses a stable pressure sensitive shrink label. The heat shrink labels are formed from a polyolefin, such as a polypropylene, and have a permanent acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive on one side. A metallized layer and open style graphics are disclosed, wherein the graphics may be protected by varnish or a second layer of heat shrinkable polyolefin material.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,303,233 discloses an uniaxially heat-shrinkable, biaxially oriented, multilayer film having a polypropylene-containing core layer, wherein metal coatings can be deposited on the multilayer film structure without the development of any noticeable crazing of the metal upon shrinking.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,024 discloses a battery label having a single heat-shrinkable polymeric layer, a graphic layer composed of a printed metallized layer or an ink layer, and a UV cured, heat, electron beam, or polymerized varnish layer having geometric patterns on the two linearly extending edges that correspond to the portion of the label that extends beyond and wraps around the rims of the battery.
EP 0122495 discloses films of biaxially oriented polypropylene laminated to an olefin polymeric film. The films are used as decorative wrapping paper having a metallized surface laminated thereon.